Constipation in Infants

My son, who is now a healthy strapping jet pilot, was raised on soy milk and has never had a problem with peanut allergies.
You can quite safely give him soy milk without any concerns.
Try exercising his legs in an upward and downward movement to stimulate his bowel as well.

My son had terrible constipation problems as an infant too. The Karo syrup never worked for him, but a small amount of Gerber prune juice did. I was leary of giving him juice before the 4-6 month window, but his pediatrician suggested it and it worked well. I would usually add an ounce or two of it to his formula because he wouldn't drink it otherwise. And I only gave it to him as needed.

My baby had that problem when he was a week old... My doctor told me add 1 teaspoon to karo syrup (dark or light-i used light) to 4 oz. Of water... Give him 2 oz. In the morning and 2 in the evening. It worked right away, but if you do see blood which i did... Its probably something else, my son is allergic to cow's milk. You should try the karo syrup it seems to work

Hi S.,

My daughter had issues with constipation as well when she was a baby. I have found success in diluted apple juice or prune juice. Worked great. I would give her 4-6 ounces twice a day. Since he is smaller you may want to try 2-4 ounces since he is just a month old. It usually took a good day or so for her to loosen up. Diluting it with water really helps. I would do a half and half mixture. If you dont want to do juice, just have him drink 2-4 ounces of water a couple of times in between feedings.

In addition to the juice and water mixture I would also lay her on her back and pump her legs to her chest for a little while to help move things along.

Another thing that worked well was putting her in a warm bath. Sometimes that can relax the baby enough for the stomach to move things along through the intestines.

Good luck.. I know it can be stressful when your baby is constipated and uncomfortable.

Hi S.,
First of all there is not a good formula out there, your baby can't digest formulas causing constipation.
If you are determined to keep him on formula, try putting a little fish oil in with it, the oil is good for him and releives constipation.
If you really want the best nutrition for your child find someone who sells goats milk. It is the closest thing to mothers milk. The reason you can't give a baby cows milk is because cows milk is formulated to grow a cow. Goats milk is formulated to grow a goat which is very close to the size of a human at birth and in adult life. Goats milk is very high in vitamins like mothers milk and agrees with a baby better than formula. It is much much better if you can find fresh milk (non pasturized) but if not you can buy it at most grocery stores.
Get on line and see if someone has goats in your area, they are usually very happy to provide milk if someone has enough sense to use it. People who have goats are well aware of the value the milk provides.
In the beginning be sure to dilute the milk about half then gradually (over 3 months) progress to whole milk.
Good luck
W.

try putting a little karo syrup in the bottle w/ the formula.it will help them to go..just a tbsp will do. its inexpensive and it works. no, its not super sweet so,it won't change the flavor at all.

My almost 13 yr old son had the same problem as an infant. Don't be afraid to use the Karo white corn syrup, but DO NOT use honey. Honey is natural and does have bacteria. My great grandmother used karo for her babies to and nothing bad ever happened to them or my son. Another thing you can do is "exercise" his little legs. While laying on his back, press his legs gently into his tummy and back out again. Do this for several minutes and also while he is trying to potty. The karo will do the trick and he will be much happier. best wishes to your little guy.

2 of my 4 children had this problem,I breast fed all - so not sure of formula's, some tricks are to give the baby water,also white corn syrup(old fashioned remedy for constipatin) also just taking the babys temp helps things move along, there ae also the glucerion sticks it is not a laxative but helps sometime. if all else fails your dr may try lactalose-which is prescription - but that is ultimately what we needed to do - when they were 4-6m of age.Hope that gives you some suggestions about constpation in babies- sorry i don't know formulas

about me- i've been married for 17 years this coming August, 14yr old Aspergerous child (high functioning autism),12yr old drummer, 8yr old dancer,6yr old strongest willed of them all! love them all- wouldn't change my life for anything! Oh I also work for a few days a week at an oncology office, as a nurse. haven't worked too much this summer- which is great!

We used a dropper of Pedialyte with my son when he was constipated. It seemed to work well.

My daughter is now 6 mos. old and I had to supplement w/ formula from day one, as my milk supply was not enough to keep her satisfied. When I notice her stool is hard, I just add half an ounce more water to her formula mixture. Within one day, its back to normal. Try that. Good Luck and God Bless.

I had the same problem with my 8 month old son. I started off breastfeeding and then had to go to formula. We started with the Enfamil Lipil w/ Iron and he was constipated and colicky so we put him on the Enfamil Lactofree and after about a month of that we switched him to the Enfamil Gentelease. He's been on the Gentelease since! When he has problems with constipation (which is uncommon) we put Karo Syrup in his bottle.

As far as the allergies that come with soy milk... I was a soy milk baby and I have NO allergies to peanuts however I am also 25 years old so no telling how they've changed formula since then! :)

HTH!

I have a now 13 year old daughter who had the same problem the entire time she was on formula. It was sooo bad she would sometimes cry when she was trying to go. I told the doctor we had to do something to help her. His advise was old but worked great. Her doctor had me start by putting 1 teaspoon of the Karo syrup in each of her bottles until she had a normal stool, then cut back to 1/2 tsp. then 1/4 tsp. until we got to a dose that kept her regular. We started to only put it in every other to every third bottle . I'm sure each child will have a different amount needed to stay regular. Or you may only need it occasionally if your baby starts to be regular without it. Good luck! B.

I had to switch my son to the soy because of him spitting up but i never heard of the peanut allergy thing. About the constipation, my sons doctor said that the iron does stop you up but not to take him off of it because babies need the iron. She recommended giving him Karo surup. I would pour some into his bottle (coat the bottom of the bottle about 1/4 of an inch) and make his bottle with the formula. This way it was mixed in. If he was stopped up really bad then i would put it in every bottle if not then i would do it only at night to help keep him regulated. My son is now 21 months old and i still give him karo if he is stopped up. It is not harmful, it is natural. Call your doctor's office and ask them about it.

Good Luck!!

My doctor suggested that I mix a little light corn syrup into some water in a bottle. It seemed to work.

Hi S.,
Something I did when my son was little, was 2oz.water and 1 tsp. white Karo syurp. Do this once a day before his moring bottle! Good luck and God Bless!
K.

Hello, my suggestion would be to feed your little one Carnation Good Start baby formula. Its cheaper and very easy on the tummy (near to no gas and near to no constipation). We couldn't feed our son the Enfamil with iron it was expensive and more importantly hard on him. We never had a problem with Good Start. The pediatrician supported our decision to use what we felt was best for our little one. Our baby alway's got a good bill of health. The good start formula is well worth the switch. Good Luck!

I wouldn't recommend putting Karo syrup in his bottle!! Karo syrup=corn syrup, which studies show leads to syndrome x (it's kind of like an aggressive diabetes, only worse. You should look it up before making a decision to put this in your son's bottle!) After I weaned my son and put him on formula we had a problem with his constipation. My pediatrition told us to use 1 oz prune juice to 4 oz formula, as needed, and it worked like a charm. She also told us that the iron in the formula could be the reason, but we left him on it and just used the prune juice. Good luck!

Let the Dr. know, sometimes it is the type of formula. Had to change at least 4-5 time with my daughter. Try the formula's that do not have iron. This was the problem with mine.

It is normal when you change formula for your child not to have a stinky diaper for a couple of days.
Have you tried adding dark Kayro syrup to his bottles? I had a friend that did that for her daughter, the doc told her to. It worked really well for her.

All three of my kids have been on Soy formula and not a one is allergic to peanuts. I would say, do not worry about allergies until they rear their ugly little heads...There are better things to do with your time.

Does the Soy formula he is on have the added iron like the original formula? If so, try giving him plain Soy formula or plain enfamil and see if this causes a difference.

Give it a few more days before changing his formula...lots of changes in his diet can cause this problem as well..

Good Luck ;-)

My oldest son was on the soy formula and did battle constipation. At the time my pediatrician suggested I put Karo syrup in his formula (1 tsp to 4 oz. of h2o) It definitely worked. He was on the soy until his 1st B-day and I'd have to do the Karo syrup a couple times a month. As your son gets older you can start grape and apple juice to help move things along. By the way, my son is 5 1/2 and eats 1/2 a jar of peanut butter a day so no allergies there;-) Good Luck!

My son had horrible constipation. At three weeks I started giving him diluted prune, pear, or apple juice, it really helped, and he loved it. Just a little, once a day. Constipation is pretty common in babies, I also worked in an infant room before, and many babies had this problem so if he was digesting his milk based formula just fine I would leave him on that. Soy is not as good as milk based, since more is absorbed from milk than from soy, and from what I have heard is not good for boys (I think because it increases estrogen levels). I would do some research on that though, I nursed so didn't pay too much attention to formulas. I have always been told that iron causes constipation too, during my last pregnancy my doctor told me to take iron pills since my iron was low, and it made me really constipated (never had a problem before) that I had to stop taking them, after a day or two I was fine. He'll come out of it fine, my son regulated when he got a little older 3-4 months, and after he started eating food, started going all the time. Good luck!

This happen to my daughter at 3 weeks old. The formual was all wrong. It was that same one you are using. She would drink it and immediately bundle up with her legs up and cry. It was hard on her tummy and left her constipation. I baught a dispoitory cut one in half and real small and thin to place in her and then did that carefully. It released the hard poop and she was able to sleep for 8 hours that was the most she ever slept. She had slept much for 2 days. I changed the formula to Enfamil Nutramagen it was expense it but if she was happy I was too. I was getting to sleep. I could wait to see the doctor because it was a week end. There are other formulas but that was the best so easy on the tummy that is why it is so expensive. Good luck.

My mother in law always said to put just a little bit of light corn syrup in the bottle to help. We have a bouncer seat that vibrates and usually relaxes her enough to poo. I recommend that.

When our son was that age I asked the doctor what to do about his constipation. He told me to put a little bit of corn suryp in a bottol of water. We did and it worked. But I am now starting him on food and reading Super Baby Foods book it stated not to give chrilden under the age of one honey, corn suryp or molassis i think was the last one. So I would ask your doctor first if you could do this or if it is harmful. Those above sweetners contain a bacteria that babys cannot fight off with there new bodys but our bodys can. Good luck.

I cannot suggest a formula because every child is different, but I do have another suggestion. Try Karo syrup in the bottle. My husbands cousin had the same problem with one of her kids and a doctor down at TX Childrens told her to try it. The only time she would go poop is when the syrup was put into her bottle; she had to start this a couple months after getting out of the hospital so her daughter was really young also. Hope this is of some help and good luck with your little one.

Hi S.,

i have listened to some of the "old folk" remedies. The remedy we were given was warm water and karo syrup. It worked. Also be careful who is holding your baby. If a woman is on her period and holding your baby, that causes the constipation just as you have described. I thought it was foolish until I had my baby. It was true!!!! The milk you are using should be fine. Try the karo syrup between feedings.

I used to work as an infant caregiver in a daycare and infant constipation is pretty common. I'm not sure it matters what formula you use, I think it's just formula in general that can cause constipation is some babies.

When he gets a bit older there are over the counter remedies for baby constipation. Now I second the suggestion for karo syrup but you may want to check with the nurse at your doctors office they may have some other suggestions to help things move along.

Good luck!

We had the same problem with my 4 month old. He was on Enfamil and we switched him to Enfamil Gentleease and it helped. He was on it for several months and now we put him back on Enfamil Lipil again. We do put a little Karo dark syrup in one bottle a day to keep him regular though because sometimes he still gets consitpated, but not like when he was younger. We tried soy for a while, but it seemed to give him even more gas and it really stunk! Good luck!

My daughter had constipation alot. We switched to Enfamil Gentlease. It worked wonders! Also she din't have near th gas she had before.
Good luck!

S.. An infants' digestive system is not yet matured. It is a guessing game with the formulas. You're correct in saying both Iron & Soy will tend to constipate your infant. I would try a rice-based formula.(Can get recipe and product at Peek in LJ), and be sure to put on a infant liquid vitamin. If you'd like any more info. please feel free to contact us.
www.yourhealthyalternatives.com

My son was also on the Enfamil and was very gassy and constipated so we tried him on the soy formula, which caused an allergic reaction almost instantly. We were giving him gas drops every two hours and it was not helping. We started using the Parent's Choice (Wal-Mart brand) Organic formula and have had few problems since. It's about $10 cheaper than the Enfamil and my four month old has done very well on it; he weighs about 20 lbs now! When he gets a little older, if he still has the same problem, we use Fletchers Children's formula (castoria). You can get it at CVS or most grocery stores. You may have to ask for it, sometimes they have it behind the counter at the pharmacy. About a tsp a day in his bottle helps things move along smoother. Of course, this is not a long term solution and if he still has the problems, you may have to counsult his doc. Good luck.

I've got a three year old who was on soy formula the whole year he was getting up to one year and he's NOT allergic to peanuts. My 8 month daughter is on soy too..but I really can't say if she's allergic yet..lol. I have two friends who used the soy formula too with no allergies to peanuts. (It's a common snackfood in my household).

I'm not saying it isn't true...but I always LOVED the soy formula..It's so much easier on their tummy than Enfamil w/iron(my son started on that also). Mine both pooped very regularly(with the soy) until my oldest started regular milk. Then for constapation we put like a tablespoon of Karo light syprup in his bottles/cups. It did wonders and the BM's weren't loose. I'm at a loss at what to do with an infant though. I'm not sure their tummies can handle the syrup

Also, if she's constipated and you switch her formula to soy it's going to unconstipate her..and that CAN take a couple of days. I wouldn't worry too much about that aspect.

Hope my experience helped a little!

Both of my children were on ProSoBee soy and now drink Silk Soymilk (long line of milk protein allergy in our family). Neither one of them are allergic to peanuts and as a matter of fact LOVE them - especially the cans of nuts. It was a lot easier switching from formula to Silk Soymilk when the time came because we never had to deal with constipation, which usually happens when switching from formula to whole milk, like a lot of my other friends did. The only soymilk I ever used was Silk because it has the extra vitamins kids need that is found in whole milk. Hope this helps!

Hi! My son had the same thing. I also switched him to soy and after a week, he evened out. During this time, I also fed him 1 oz of apple juice each morning that my Dr. reccomended, and that also helped soften his stools. My son continued on the soy formula for his first year, and did excellent. He is also a huge peanut lover, and has never had a problem. Stick with it, I found that too many changes in their formula makes their little systems back up.. Good Luck!

I disagree with your doc that the iron in the formula can't cause constipation--it definitely can. However, it's important that your baby keep getting iron to prevent anemia. I also disagree with what you read about soy formula leading to peanut allergies--not true. Besides, the Similac formula has iron as well. If your babies not having any other symptoms (ie. gassiness, fussiness) besides pellet stools, you may try adding a bit more water when you mix the bottle--like 1/4 ounce extra 4 times a day. If that doesn't work you might try a bit of apple juice, like 1/2 ounce per day. Usually not recommended for babies under 4-6 months of age, but better than being constipated. If the water/apple juice doesn't work, you can try 1 TBSP Karo dark syrup. If none of those work and your baby still has pellet stools that cause him to cry or especially if you seen any blood, you should talk with your doc about a stool softener. Hope that helps.